This invention relates to an image storage-reproduction recording element of the ferroceramic type wherein write-in is implemented by a photoconductive layer.
A conventional recording element of this general type is shown in FIG. 5, wherein a non-conductive mirror layer 3, a photoconductive layer 4, and a transparent electrode 5' are sequentially formed as a laminate on one surface of a thin ceramic plate 2 in which adjacent ferroelectric and antiferroelectric phases can coexist, and wherein a transparent electrode 6 is formed on the other surface of the plate 2. As illustrated in FIG. 4(a), an input light image 10' is focused on the recording element 1' by a suitable, commercially available projector. If the photoconductive layer 4 is composed of polyvinyl carbazole, for example, upon the application of a 200-volt direct current with the polyvinyl carbazole side being negative, the image is recorded due to the differences in the field strengths applied across the ceramic adjacent the light part N and dark parts M of the image.
Image reproduction may be accomplished using a condensing type of optical readout system C, as schematically shown in FIG. 2, which is convenient since lens aberration can be minimized to correspondingly reduce the distortion of the projected image. The readout system includes a light source 7, lenses 8, 8', 8", a projection screen 9.
The conventional recording element 1' has a uniform recording surface electrode 5', which results in poor contrast during readout due to the large amount of light reflected from the image area.